Saturday, 8 August 2015

Sorting a Leak

Her speedo log fitting was leaking, so I volunteered to sort it for her. A couple of hours at low tide was all it took.

Cut away the slather of sealant that had been applied to stop the leak, remove old sealant from fittings, clean everything up, degrease, apply fresh sealant, retighten and job's done. :-)

It looks like the previous owner had refitted the fitting after the hull had been painted. The sealant did a wonderful job, but the paint lifted from the gel coat and the water got through the joint that way. It was so easy to push out of the hull you could tell there was no bond to the hull at all. I scraped any paint from round the hole for the fitting so when it was refitted the sealant bonded to the gel coat and not the paint.

Anyway it was all done by 10 am this morning and high tide wasn't until 7pm so it had plenty of time to set. Checked on it this evening and its dry as a bone. Success!

One less thing for Nicky to worry about. :-)

There's a boat jumble on Worthing seafront tomorrow. I've never been so I'd like to visit..... But then the tides are right for a full day out in the Solent tomorrow and the weather looks good....

Argh, I can't decide.... Sailing takes precedence I think, I've done precious little of it this year.
Its Cowes week so maybe its not a good idea to go there. Maybe anchor up in Osborne bay and watch the boats while having lunch? That sounds like a plan.

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About Me

Hi I'm Mark, a 50-something who spends most of his spare time doing stuff with his Sea Wych 19, or helping his mate Jim with his Valiant 18 Yacht.
I blog to promote the Skint Sailor Ethos: you can run a boat cheaply if you are canny enough.
I started messing with boats as a kid on the Northern canals. Boats were the first vehicle with an engine I ever took charge of. Inland Waterways are too regulated and expensive. Now I mess about on the sea where things are a lot less restrictive.